Gorgeous Green Fashion Show (Part 2)

I won’t recap Friday night model practice. I’ll only take any jokes that come my way.

At the end of the night, these events were envisioned for Saturday. I can’t call it an itinerary, not even a plan. These words are too definite and imply follow through.

8:00 a.m. Meet with designers for fittings
11 a.m. Arrive at salon for hair styling
2:00-5:00 Break and allow people to rest, go home before show.
5:30 Arrive at venue for girls make-up, final fittings
6:30 Dress Rehearsal
8:00 Show starts

Well, after being in Botswana, I understand that things start a little later. I don’t rush, no reason too. I arrive in the morning 8:45 am. This was 2 hours too early for anyone else, even the main organizer.

After even longer, two girls showed up and left. I left, no fittings done and was told to come back at 3:00 to go to the salon.

At while after 3:00 p.m. we were piled into a rental bus and went to pick up other stragglers. I sat beside Lebo, a tall light skinned model who had recently returned from 4 years in Japan. She seemed a queen bee to the other younger and smaller models. Lebo has a commanding presence and seemed to enjoy hoarding me to herself. We easily talked for 2 hours and became friends. She was very open and shared stories I will not repeat here.

This salon was a high point and a low point of this experience. Oh how I wish I had pictures. The girls’ hair followed a general trend:
1) Decent, nice looking hair
2) Once the stylist gets to it, the hair becomes huge. A mass of hair all pointed in one direction, like the women stood deliberately behind a jet engine. Nothing less powerful will ever move the hair again.
Alternatively, the hair disappears. (Wait, none of your hair is real?). Most African women have and use wigs, don’t know if this is common knowledge. Where this ‘real human hair’ comes from I have no idea. It kind of bugs me.
3) Hair must be tamed, beaten in, braided in, sewn in. Sometimes this is repeated. Then sprayed and doused in product.
4) Decent, nice looking hair

I’m joking about the final product, the hair all looked beautiful. The process took a very, very long time. In fact, by the time my hair was cut, it was 7:50 p.m. (see above schedule, that’s right).

My own hair was another story. When we arrived, it was established who could cut the ‘Canadian hair’. My hair hadn’t been cut since it was shaved in Barbados. Despite my Canadian hair and despite the restless women, I got a very good haircut with my first Mohawk. I was deemed Beckham for quite a while after this.

When getting part of my head shaved I took Dad’s advice and was careful. I saw the electric razor disinfected twice before it was used on me. This was cautious. I could and hope to write about the mentality of mitigating exposure to HIV. Life goes on.

We left the salon after 8 p.m. I called my friend who was at the venue. She asked
‘Are you backstage? Coming out soon?’
‘No, we’re leaving the salon. Half an hour away’
‘The salon? Really? Well, good luck!’

While I had been measured, I had yet to try on any clothing. The girls needed to be fitted for all clothes and have their make-up done. We arrived at the venue from a packed bus at 8:30 p.m. (Please refer to schedule once more).